Asher Sterling
by Silver261
Summary: I have made another character for another series. Asher Sterling. I'll be more devoted to this one than my first one. Asher Sterling lives in a household of three, his brother Matt, and his father Sinclair. Things will be explained in the story. I hope you like it. Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Attack on Titan franchise, that belongs to it's amazing author. I only own my OCs.
1. Ch 1 - Shiganshina

In the winter of the year 834 it was very cloudy, snowy and cold. Little of the sun was seen, as though the clouds did not want the world to warm up. It was like this especially where Humanity was huddled up inside their three walls. The walls were massive, some places reaching a little over fifty meters tall. Each ring of walls have about a hundred kilometers of land between them. They were in the walls because of the giant human-like monsters outside named by the humans as "Titans." They ate humans, not for sustenance, but for some other unknown reason. It seems that without sunlight though, that they can't move all that well; and this was very true for the winter of the year 834.

With the sun behind thick, black clouds at all times, the Titans were extremely sluggish and seemed to just sit around, doing nothing. So when a man on a horse was riding full speed toward the walls that humanity calls home, they couldn't get up to snack on him. He had ice forming on his brown hair, and icicles hanging from his short beard. In his arms he carried two bundles of cloth, which he held close, as though it was the secret to immortality.

He seemed tired, untill he caught sight of the wall through the flurries. At this, he gained a determined smile and urged the horse to the limit of it's capabilities. When he reached the wall he followed it East until he saw a part of the wall protruding out of the main one. An outlier district, built to protect on of the only four entrances to that specific wall. Each wall had four outlier districts, one North, south, East, and West. This one was the man's goal.

He turned the horse toward one of the braces. The eighth one from the main wall. He reached it in five minutes flat. When he arrived, he went to the part where the brace intersect the wall, looking for something.

He found it, a door, made of solid steel, too small for titans to get in, and too out of the way for any humans to notice it. However, if there was a titan that could fit, it wouldn't be able to open it. The man dismounted and walked hastily to the door, still carrying the bundles. Very carefully he held both in on arm and pulled out a complicated looking silver colored key. He inserted it into three keyholes, and one at a time unlocked each. He tried to yank the door open but it resisted, and slowly opened with loud screeching noises. The man winced and checked the bundles. They did nothing. He gave a sigh of relief and stepped in.

A second later a giant hand slapped down where he just was. The man whipped around and saw a titan with a creepy looking smile lifting it back up. But it was sluggish and slow, so the man took the chance and pulled the steel door shut and slammed it closed, not caring if it made any noise. He locked every lock back, grabbed the bundles and quickly headed down a small tunnel. a few feet in he reached a spiral staircase a meter in diameter, descending about 20 feet. He followed it and entered a longer tunnel at the bottom.

Ten seconds later he reached an ascending spiral staircase, climbed this one and came upon a ladder. He placed one bundle down, and carried the other up in one arm. once he reached the top, he braced his back against the wall and unlatched the lock on a trap door. He pushed it open, popped halfway out and placed the bundle on the ground. He then slid down the ladder, grabbed the other bundle and did the same. He reached the top and closed the door, leaving the latch off. He looked around.

The trap door was at the end of the brace, behind an empty abandoned house, well out of sight. From the looks of it, humanity didn't like to live next to the walls. There were more lighted windows towards the center of the district. Next to the abandoned house sat a little two story house made of a pale vanilla colored stone. It had what looked like a very small bell tower on the front right side of the roof, which had the same red shingles as the other houses. The belltower didn't seem to have a bell though, and the man briefly considered why, but dismissed it.

He found the back door and entered the house. It was slightly warmer in here, but not by much. He went to the fire place and luckily found a small pile of wood next to it. He pulled out a match, put the wood in and lit it. Once that was done he moved the bundles closer to the fire. Once the room warmed up he unwrapped the top of them. In each one was a little baby. They were both asleep. One had the same hair color as the man, the other had it too, but it was much darker, closer to black. As if on cue, the babies slowly woke and started looking around at the new surroundings. The one with brown hair had Hazel eyes, the Dark Brown one had Turquoise, like the man.

The man crouched down and stared at them, getting their attention. A tear came up from his eye and rolled down his face. It landed on the Dark brown haired baby and it giggled. He smiled and said, "Welcome to your new home boys... Shiganshina."

**A/N: To anyone who reads this, if there are any spelling or grammatical errors, just tell me. I'll fix them.**


	2. Ch 2 - Home

The name of their new home was Shiganshina, an Outlier District of the Wall Maria. It was one of the most undesirable places to live, in the opinion of people of the North. To the residents of Shiganshina, it was perfectly fine. Of course some might want to move to the District of Trost, the Southern District of Wall Rose. They never dreamed of moving to anywhere in Wall Sina, that's where the wealthy lived. The man from outside the Walls was named Sinclair Sterling. It could be a fake name, but I won't delve into that. Seeing as he came from outside the walls had no money to speak of when he entered the wall, so he couldn't go anywhere closer to the center. He didn't mind though; being in the walls at all was good enough.

He may have not had any money, but he got a job quickly. Sinclair Sterling took up the job of making and repairing one of Humanities greatest inventions: The Omni-Directional Maneuvering Gear. 3D Gear, ODM Gear, whatever you want to call it. It allows any human with the skill to fight in a 3D space rather than the normal 2D.

It turned out Sinclair was exceptionally good at his job, and he gained money quickly. He never changed houses however, and if someone wanted to get their Gear fixed up by the renowned Sinclair, they had to travel all the way to Shiganshina. Much to their displeasure.

He turned the very small backyard of his house into a forge of sorts, and bought the abandoned house next door to store all of his supplies. Whenever he needed something he would ask one of his boys to fetch it from the Storage House.

Like now for instance.

Sinclair was at his forge working on a piston shot grappling hook, but needed something.

"Asher!" he yelled towards the open back door of the house. About ten seconds later the six-year-old boy with dark brown hair and turquoise eyes, Asher Sterling, came out of the door.

"What do I need to get?" He asked.

"I need the mold for a grappling hook, I forgot to grab it," Sinclair replied.

"On it," and he zoomed back inside. He went upstairs to his bed and shook the other boy awake. The brown haired, hazel eyed one.

"Matt, I'm going to need your help getting Dad the mold for a grapple."

Matt groaned and turned over saying groggily, "Why can't you get it yourself? I'm trying to sleep..."

"I'm not tall enough, I need you to boost me up."

Matt lay there for a moment and sighed, "Alright, but you have to help me no matter what you're doing next time."

"Deal."

So they both went downstairs and headed out the front door taking a right to go to the Storage House. The went inside the building and headed to the second floor. Materials like steel, cogs, etc. were on the first floor. Molds, tools and experimental parts were on the second. The went over to a shelf and Matt put his hands together and crouched. Asher stepped into the hands and Matt boosted him up. Asher quickly grabbed the mold and jumped down, being careful with the mold.

"Alright, Matt, you can go back to sleep. And thanks."

"Remember the deal."

"I will, I will. A 'you're welcome' would be nice you know."

"You're welcome, now hurry before Dad gets irritated."

Asher hurried back down the stairs and back to his house. He went back through the front door. The couldnt go straight to the forge because Sinclair had erected a stone wall around it, to keep meddling youngsters out. Asher entered the forge and handed the mold to Sinclair.

"Thanks son," Sinclair said smiling, "Sorry for being forgetful."

"It's ok Dad, you at least gave me a thank you," Asher had a slight frown, "Matt didn't want to give me a you're welcome."

Sinclair grinned, "Now Asher, you know Matt gets grumpy when you wake him up."

Asher stayed silent.

"How about this, take my Library Card," he pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to Asher, "and go to the Library. Get a book to read"

Asher beamed saying, "Thanks Dad!" and rushed back through the house.

Sinclair watched after him, still smiling, and turned back to the forge when he was out of Library was right in front of their house, but it was below them, down a short vertical stone wall. It was owned by the Syndicate family. A man and woman named Vergil and Eve. They had two sons: Axel, who was one year older than Asher and Matt, and Pellek. Their house was right next door to the Library, and the second floor for both buildings was connected by a small bridge of sorts. The Syndicates were fairly nice, but protective of their books, and their past. They weren't originally living in Shiganshina and if anyone asked where they came from, they got stern faces and changed the subject quickly.

They were friends to the Sterlings and were more trusted than most customers, allowing the three member family to check out more books than most. They were especially friendly towards Asher, who was a constant visitor. Sometimes they invited him over for dinner. He would try to converse with their sons Axel and Pellek seemed to like reading more than socialization. Preferring to eat and head straight back upstairs to read. Asher was fairly certain that Axel had already read the Library in it's entirety.

Today Aher went into the Library's front door and began looking at the shelves of books for something he wanted to read. Once he found one he checked it out at the desk and went upstairs. He found Axel reading at a table. He was the same height as Asher, skinny, and had an unusual hair color of silver. His hair was neatly combed down, slightly covering his icy blue eyes.

Asher slowly walked over to the table Axel was sitting at, pulled out a chair and sat down.

He stared at Axel a few seconds before saying, "Hi, Axel."

"Go away, I'm reading," Axel replied without even looking up from his book.

Asher shrugged. It was worth a try. He got up and headed back outside of the library. The wall he jumped down was too high and steep for him to climb back up, so he too the normal path back to his house. Once inside he went upstairs, sat on his bed next to his sleeping brother, and began reading his book.

**A/N: Axel Syndicate and his family are owned by my friend WhiteCross698. Also, the only resemblances between Matt Sterling and Mat-012 is the first name, nothing else. I just couldn't think of a name, so you'll just have to deal with it.**


	3. Ch 3 - Outside

One year later, the Sterling boys are having a birthday party. It wasn't very large, just the three member family. Sinclair had put a tablecloth over the normally empty wooden table, and placed a cake on the center. It was decorated with the three symbols for the military's three branches. The green unicorn of the Military Police Brigade, the red roses of the Garrison Regimen, and finally, the white and blue wings of the Survey Corps.

You see, the boys had taking a liking to them, and would often ask any members of each what their job was like when they came for repairs. Many members of the Survey Corps came in to receive repairs... many sets of Gear having blood stains on them. They were the ones the boys got to ask the most questions. They all got a sad look before suddenly smiling, telling them about going outside the Walls all the time. Only a few members of the Garrison came in. They mostly came in because their Gear had fallen into disrepair from not being used. One, and only one, member of the Military Police had ever set foot in their house. He wanted his Gear in absolute perfect shape to show off to his girlfriend, a reason Asher and Matt found most irritating. It was a pretty bad impression for Asher, but Matt believed the others were most likely different.

Sinclair put seven candles on both sides, seven blue for Asher, seven yellow for Matt. He had ordered the boys to clean up the forge; and not come in until they were done, or they were called back in. To their extreme disappointment, they obeyed. It was their birthdays for crying out loud! But they rarely disobey their father. Sinclair felt bad once seeing their disappointed faces, but he needed time to get this ready. It was an important day.

The decorations were up. The cake was ready; all fourteen candles lit. He filled up a bucket with soap and water and tossed a clean rag in it. Once he mixed it up he headed outside hastily closing the door. Once the boys heard the door their heads shot up, a glimmer of hope in their eyes. Sinclair looked them over. They were filthy; covered in black dust from the forge. It was mostly clean however. They did a good job.

Sinclair smiled and held out the bucket, "Get yourselves cleaned up. You don't want to get black stuff all over the house do you?"

Asher and Matt shook their heads and accepted the bucket. They washed off and used an unused towel to dry off. They weren't perfectly clean, but they were clean enough. He gave them a hug and thanked them for their good work; stepped back up and lead them to the door.

The boys cheered when they saw what was inside. Sinclair released his hold on their shoulders and they rushed to the table. Taking their seats they checked out the cake. The Sterling boys' grins widened at the sight of the symbols... until Asher saw the MP symbol. His grin shrunk a little.

He put that from his mind when Sinclair started sing the happy birthday song and told them to blow out their candles and make a wish. Asher blew out his candles and wished to himself, _I wish I had my own set of ODM Gear..._ Asher had wanted a set of his own Gear for a while now. He'd helped his dad with them for a few years now and had memorized every part of a standard set, and then some. He had looked over his father's experimental parts and add-ons and planned on trying to successfully incorporate them into his own Gear. He would have the best Gear ever, with things no one else had! He would take care of it as much as he took care of himself. And practice using it all the time, never letting it go into disrepair from not using it like the Garrison or the MPs!

After the candles were removed Sinclair cut up the cake and gave them both two pieces. They chowed down; it wasn't every day they got to have cake. Their father always made them eat healthy and exercise... it got annoying sometimes. So they savored this moment, this cake.

Sinclair at a piece as well. It tasted delicious; the baker he ordered the cake from wasn't lying. She really was amazing. He ate a couple more pieces before he stopped. He put his fork down... he had almost forgotten what he needed to do today. Sinclair stood up and told his boys to stop eating. They did, but looked at him in confusion. He picked up their plates and set them aside, wiped off their mouths and lead them through the front door. They kept pace with him, but were still confused.

"Dad," Asher asked, "Why did we stop eating the cake? Did we mess up on the forge?"

"If we did, we're really sorry!" Matt added.

Sinclair looked down at them with a stiff expression, "I need to show you boys something."

Sinclair led them behind the storage house to a small stack of crates. He moved them out of the way to reveal the trap door.

Asher poked his father, "Why are we going outside? I thought you showed us all there is to see. We haven't been out in a long while."

A couple of years before, Sinclair had grabbed a shovel and removed the dirt he had used to cover up the door and called his kids over. They were curious why their Dad knew about it but he told them it was a secret, and to never tell anyone. The Scouts had left on an Expedition that day and most of the titans had followed them. So this was the perfect time to go. He led them down, through the tunnel and up to the other side. Once the boys were out it took a few seconds for it to sink in that they were outside the Walls. They got excited and kept saying to each other that they got out, without joining the Survey Corps! Sinclair asked them how it felt, to not be stuck inside the Walls they had known their entire young lives. After a little bit of thinking, Asher replied with, "It feels like freedom!"

They had gone out every time the Scouts left, as it was the only safe time. Sinclair had reinforced every time never to tell anyone. Every time they promised not to tell anyone. One time they had tried to get out on their own, but were caught red handed. The punishment was one of the most severe they ever had. As a safety precaution Sinclair made a lock for the trap door, with only one key; which he had at all times. After about a year and a half, they stopped going outside the Walls. Sinclair had shown them the area around Shiganshina in that time, but he wouldn't venture farther out. There could still be Titans around.

Now here they were again, entering the door and exiting the Walls.

"Asher's right Dad," said Matt, "You said it yourself, there isn't anything else to see!"

"Nothing that I could show you that you would understand," Sinclair countered.

Asher frowned, "What would we not understand about being outside the Walls? It's like in here but with unlimited space, no humans and a whole lot of Titans-"

"Exactly, that's all you _could_ understand at that time," Sinclair said in a worried tone, "but I have received some news from a... friend. Troubling news, and I need to show you boys this last thing before the trouble reaches Shiganshina."

He pulled them down the usual path down the stairs, through the tunnel, and outside. There were two horses waiting there.

Asher glanced at the horses and back to his father, "How did you get horses out here? And why?"

Sinclair kept walking, "Very carefully. We need to be far away as to not attract attention to ourselves."

He lifted up the boys onto one horse and hopped onto the other, the horses were connected by a lead, the horse carrying the boys forced to follow Sinclair. They rode for about an hour in one direction. They stopped in a forest clearing. Sinclair dismounted his horse and securely tied them onto a tree, using a very tight, very complicated looking knot. The boys dismounted as well and stood at a separate tree under their father's orders.

Sinclair walked to the middle of the clearing and looked at his sons, "Asher, Matt. I know you boys have only known Shiganshina all your life, and you've been taught that Titan's eat humans. That last part is true... mostly."

Asher and Matt were a little frightened by the change in mood their father had. He was usually happy, smiling, laughing. He was almost never like this: sad, distant, and quiet. He was only ever like this when... when he was outside the Walls, or talking about being outside.

Asher stared at his father, "Dad... what do you mean mostly true?"

"I'm getting to that son... Not all Titans eat people, some Titans hate eating people. Those Titans are special, they can look human if they want to. And they can live a normal Human life if they want to..."

"What are you saying Dad?"

"Dad, you aren't saying what we think you're saying," Matt added, "... are you?"

Sinclair's face darkened, "Boys, you and I weren't originally from the Walls. And I... am one of those Titans."

Asher closed his eyes and shook his head furiously, "That's crazy talk Dad... You must be stalling, this is a surprise for our birthday isn't it? You somehow got the Syndicate's here before us, so you could throw a surprise birthday party for us outside the Walls?"

"Son! What _you_ are saying now is nonsense. I brought us out here so I could prove it to you that we aren't from within the Walls!"

At this he brought out a knife, and Asher jumped back a couple feet. But their father didn't rush at them, he sliced his own hand with it.

An instant later there was a bright flash of light, a huge explosion, and a blast of steam. The steam blew Asher and Matt into the tree. The horses went wild. Asher and Matt got up, confused and frightened. Had their Dad exploded?! The steam began to clear and sunlight began to stream through to the ground once more. Asher strained his eyes to see what had happened to his Dad, but his eyes widened when he saw one of the gigantic Titans instead. It must have been at least 20 meters tall. The Titan was heavily muscled and had normal body proportions, unlike a lot of Titans. Its hair was white and covered his ears. Along with the white hair there was a white beard as well, unusual for a Titan. It stared at them with dark blue eyes, and began to speak.

Its voice was deep and a bit gravely, but understandable, "Asher... Matt. You come from a family that has lived outside the Walls for a hundred years... I was one of the only ones to break that tradition... I reveal this because I have been warned that humanity will be attacked by the people I have come from... I show you this as insurance that you will survive."

The boys were speechless. That Titan, a thing that ate humans, was their father?! Impossible! But the undeniable evidence was right in front of them. So Asher decided to speak up, "Why?! Why keep this quiet?!"

Their Titan father frowned, "I wanted a normal... human life... I wanted you boys to have one too...I just... I'm so sorry." Titan Sinclair crouched down and sat there a moment. A cloud of steam came from his neck and the _human_ body of Sinclair climbed out of it. He had red marks on his face and arms that looked like a sunburn, or a rash, "Is a normal life too much to ask for?" Sinclair was now crying a little. The tears being absorbed into his beard. The boys couldn't help it, they ran to him and hugged him. They couldn't deal with their father being sad. Sinclair stood still, had they really accepted this so quickly?

Matt spoke up for the first time since the explosion, "Dad, why are other people like you... us... going to attack our home?"

Sinclair was quiet for a second and wiped away his tears. He regained his composure, "I honestly don't know... I just got a warning from... another Shifter."

"A what?" Asher asked.

"A Titan Shifter. It's what we're called. Well, one of the things we're called. I got the warning from another Shifter, one with his own family to protect... He told me that I should inform you of our ability... as an insurance."

"You said that before," Matt pointed out, "What do you mean?"

"When I left for the safety of Humanities Walls, it wasn't exactly on the best terms... they will not forgive me. But you however, didn't come here on your own consent, I brought you here. They most likely saw it as a kidnapping, even if you're my sons, not theirs," he seemed to get a little angry then, "They'll probably kill me, but bring you back."

"**NO**!" the boys said in unison. Sinclair looked at them in surprise.

"We won't let that happen!" Exclaimed Asher.

Matt pointed his thumb at himself, "Yeah! If we can do that Shifting stuff too, we'll deck 'em!"

Sinclair smiled, but spoke in a serious tone. "Now, under no circumstances are you to Shift because you want to. Humanity will kill you on the spot. Only do it when it is absolutely necessary... Under_stand_?"

The boys nodded. Sinclair stared into their eyes for a few seconds each, then crouched down and hugged them tightly. The boys accepted the hug, and returned to the horses, they seemed to have calmed down and they mounted them once more, for another hour long ride back to civilization.

**A/N: Congratulations to me. 2374 words typed. That's the most I've ever typed in one go.**


	4. Ch 4 - Time Passes

Life was normal for the next four years, except for the first few months after Sinclair revealed their Titan Shifting abilities to his boys. They had been expecting for an attack soon after what Sinclair had done. They waited, and waited, and waited... for six months. Nothing huge happened, no Titans or other Titan Shifters inside the Walls killing everyone. Just the normal peace there had been the past hundred years.

Something good came out of it for Asher though. His father had made him his own Gear, just like he wanted. It was more like ODM Gear with metaphorical training wheels however. The cables weren't as long as a normal one, and the triggers didn't have the slots for Flesh Pairing Blades. Sinclair had taken a leave of absence from work to take them to a forest of giant trees, inside Wall Maria. The trees were around, and mostly over, forty meters tall, and with the thick numerous thick trunks and limbs, it was perfect terrain for the Omni-Directional Maneuvering Gear.

Once they arrived Sinclair tried to help get the straps on Asher, but he insisted that he could do it. And he could; he got himself ready in one minute flat.

Sinclair was absolutely great at making and repairing other people's Gear - but he couldn't actually use it. He didn't have the flexibility or skill. So to help Asher learn how to use it he had asked one of his previous customers, Moses. Moses's real name was Braun, but he went by his middle name. He never told Sinclair why, so Sinclair decided not to ask. Moses had messy cheek length blond hair and light-green eyes, and to Asher's utter happiness, he arrived in his Survey Corps uniform. He spent a few days teaching Asher the basics. He had to stop many times to give Asher a break because the ODM Gear requires great physical strength, particularly in the legs. On a couple of days, Asher couldn't even walk.

But he kept practicing, and practicing, and practicing, He kept at it for over a year, Sinclair having different Survey Corps members' help, Moses being a recurring teacher. It took a year and a half, but Asher finally had the strength and skill enough to use his Gear to weave around the giant trees. He never went any higher than 15 meters, he would have went above the branches if his Dad had not set a limit however.

That changed one day, when he was practicing using the cables to fling himself. Matt was getting bored that day, very bored. He didn't care as much for the Gears as his brother did, and he didn't always go with them to the forest of giant trees. He had always wanted to CLIMB the trees though. They were so tall, and his brother wasn't even allowed to get as high as one of the huge branches. He wanted to do something that Asher couldn't. To show him up in one of his boring training sessions.

So he decided on that day to wait for no one to look his way... and begin climbing up the trunk of a tree. He quickly got behind one, out of sight, and looked for a handhold. It took a bit, but he found one that seemed to lead to more handholds. This was his path to the top. It was time to climb.

He gripped the bark, and put one hand above the other, reaching the next one. He pulled up and put one shoe into a niche, then the other in a higher one. Matt continued with this for several minutes, he made sure to go slowly and carefully. He knew if he rushed, he would fall and get seriously hurt. Despite the danger, he kept on climbing. He reached the first large branch in ten minutes. When he got on top of it his body was shaking. Matt shook his head, he had overestimated his upper body strength and stamina. He was sure Asher could probably climb further, he had been training for a year and a half... while he had sat around, playing card games with some friends. He tried think of how to get down, when he made the mistake of looking over the edge. This was the day Matt learned he was afraid of heights... no, the day he learned that he was afraid of falling from high places.

Matt's eyes widened in fear. He was too high up, if he fell he would die! He took a step away from the edge, but his foot met nothing but air. He started falling backwards, but he shot out his arms, they barely gripped the branch, it was too smooth.

"Help!" he cried, his hands slipping. Sinclair's head shot towards the cry for help and he yelled in shock, then yelled for Moses.

"Moses, save Matt! Quickly, he's slipping!"

Moses couldn't get his triggers out in time, and Matt lost his grip. He bagan free falling. There was 25 meters of air between him and the ground. He hoped the impact would kill him instantly instead of painfully.

But suddenly he wasn't falling. Matt was flying instead. Somehow Moses had actually reached him in time, and Matt looked at the face of his rescuer to thank him. He was in the middle of it when he realized it was Asher. How had Asher reached him in time? His cables couldn't reach more than 10 meters, and Matt had been much further away than that.

Asher swung them around a tree trunk and lowered them down. He set Matt down and looked away from his father with a look of shame on his face.

Matt didn't understand why he looked like that until Sinclair asked Asher, "Son, why did you switch out the cables for longer ones without asking me?"

Asher turned to look at his father still shame faced, "I... I just-" He was interrupted by a tight hug from his father.

"It doesn't matter, you saved your brother," Sinclair held Asher at an arm's length, "I think you deserve to go as high up as you want now. You're ready."

Asher beamed and shot a fist in the air. Matt would have normally gotten irritated that his mistake was Asher's gain, but Asher had just saved his life, and he was happy to be alive.

* * *

><p>Asher became proficient with his Gear after two years, and Matt tried to be more active after his incident. It was the year 844 now, and Asher had not gone to the Library as much during his training or any time after, so he went there one day to get some books to read. When he got about 10 feet from the ledge he usually jumped over, he noticed it looked a little blurry for some reason. It was certainly more blurry than it was before, and it was getting annoying how everything farther than a house away seems to have no outlines. Colors blurred together at the edges; the further they were, the more they blurred. He jumped down the ledge and made his way into the Library. Asher got some books and headed up stairs, seeing Axel in his usual place. He sat across from him and said, "Hi."<p>

Again, without looking up he replied, "I'm reading, please go away."

"But, I have a problem. Do you happen to know why everything is getting blurry at the edges?"

For the first time Asher had ever seen, Axel actually looked up. His eyebrows shot up, "Are things blurry far away, or when you get close?"

Asher was surprised, Axel never continued conversations with him, "Uh... When they're far away, like your house outside the window."

Axel put his book down, bookmarked his spot and closed it, "Sounds like you need to see a doctor, you're developing Myopia."

Asher got a little scared, "Am I going to _**die**_?"

Axel looked at him like he was inferior, "No, you're becoming nearsighted. You can only see things in focus when their close."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know what Myopia was."

Axel sighed, "I apologize as well. Sometimes I forget that people haven't read medical textbooks cover to cover 4 times. Here, follow me, I'll need to ask your Dad if I can take you to the local doctor, Grisha Yeager."

Asher nodded and they went back to the Sterling house. When Asher walked in with Axel behind him, both Sinclair and Matt immediately stopped what they were doing. They both stared at Axel until Sinclair spoke up.

"Uh, welcome Axel. How are you? ...You never really visit, why the sudden appearance?"

Axel bowed slightly, "I came to ask permission to take you some Asher to see Doctor Yeager."

Sinclair stared in surprise, "What for, he looks perfectly fine to me."

"Your son mentioned to me that things that are further away from him are blurry. I believe he is developing Myopia."

Matt dropped a plate in the sink, "Is he gonna _**die**_?!"

Axel rolled his eyes, "No... he is becoming nearsighted. He most likely needs to get a pair of glasses."

Sinclair nodded, "I should have seen that coming. Their mother wore glasses. Go ahead, its fine with me."

Axel thanked him and pulled Asher through the door, closed it, and led him towards the center of Shiganshina. Asher was brought to a nice looking house on a stone path. Axel led him to the door and knocked.

A woman wearing an apron opened the door. She had brown hair and eyes and smiled when she saw them.

"Hello," she said, "what brings you to our home? Did Eren start trouble with someone again?"

Axel shook his head, "No, no. Eren doesn't usually go to the library. I see his friend Armin occasionally though, but that's not why we're here. Is your husband home?"

"Why, yes. He just got back from a job yesterday. Eren brought a... friend over to stay a while. She's not doing so well at the moment, so just let her be, all right?"

Axel and Asher nodded, and the lady let them in. Inside, Asher saw a young boy looking to be about his age with the same brown hair as Mrs. Yeager talking to what must be that friend he brought over. Her hair was long and very black. They were facing away from him, so he couldn't see their faces. Over at a table a man Asher assumed was Dr. Grisha Yeager looked up at them, "Kalura what brings these two here?"

Mrs. Yeager shrugged, "They only told them they wanted to see you."

Axel stepped forward, "My acquaintance here, Asher Sterling, is developing Myopia. He requires a pair of glasses, can you make some for him?"

"Of course. Asher, would you come over here?"

After doing a bunch of things Asher didn't completely understand, Dr. Yeager informed them that the glasses would be done within a few days. True to his word he came up to his house and delivered them himself. The glasses were instantly amazing to Asher, everything looked so much sharper! He could separate the far end of the Wall from the skyline! Colors even seemed to look better, no everything looked better!

He thanked Dr. Yeager over and over. Sinclair thanked him as well.

"Thanks Grisha, how much will this cost?"

Grisha gained a small grin, "It's already been paid for."

Sinclair looked dumbfounded, "_You_ paid for them?"

"Heavens no. That boy, Axel Syndicate, did."

All three of the Sterlings jaws dropped, "_Whaaaaaaaaaaat_?"

"Indeed. Now, I must take my leave. Good day to you three," Dr. Yeager said stepping out and closing the door. Sinclair looked at Asher.

"You should go thank Axel."

Asher was already headed for the door.


	5. Ch 5 - In the Year 845

**EDIT: I wasn't satisfied with the end I typed. It isn't that big of a change, just ****a few sentences. **

It was now the summer of the year 845. Asher was in the forest early in the morning for some practice. Moses had gone on the recent Survey Corps expedition, so another member named Luke Siss was in his place. Asher wasn't out in the forest as much as the first two years, he only went about every two months now, and he had to get a couple new sets of Gear because they didn't fit anymore.

Asher lowered from a tree and brought the cables back in. He walked over to his duffel bag, got the Gear off and packed them away. Once he was done with that he and Luke exited the forest and mounted their horses, heading back for Shiganshina. The forest Asher practiced at wasn't too far from Shiganshina, about thirty minutes at a run on horseback. But they were in no hurry, so it took them about an hour and a half to return. Once they reached the Gate Asher dismounted and returned the horse to Luke. He thanked Luke for being his chaperone and headed through the Gate. When he was a house away he heard a boy yelling behind him.

"Why do you think?! What if THEY break through the walls? We'd be sitting ducks on your watch!"

Asher turned around.'_They?... does he mean the Titans?_' The boy was yelling at a blond man, a member of the Garrison from the symbol on his back. He looked like he was trying to calm the boy down, and his drunk buddies were making fun of the boy as well and he started yelling again, "A feeling?! What have any of you actually done to be ready for 'em? Dad says you've gotta stay sharp!"

The drunk guards sighed and said something else, but they were too far away for him to hear. The boy was the only one he COULD hear because he kept yelling about the Titans somehow getting inside the Walls. That made him remember about the attack suddenly. The warning his father told him about. '_I had completely forgotten about that... that was almost four years ago._'

"Oh GREAT! Then at least have the decency to stop calling yourselfs a Garrison! People might get the wrong idea!"

'_Man, that kid is angry_' Asher thought, and headed back down the street. He followed the main road a ways before taking a right down one of the many roads branching off. Anyone who had lived in a small village wouldn't be able to find their way around a crowded city like Shiganshina. Take one wrong turn and you'd be lost. Asher had lived here all eleven years of his life though; he knew Shiganshina like the back of his hand. There actually was a couple of times he helped someone when they were lost. Both weren't from around there, and they were hopelessly lost; all of them. Asher helped them all out. He was pretty sure they got lost again shortly after he left.

About halfway home he heard some large bells ringing and stopped. He turned towards the direction of the Southern gate. Sounds like the Scouts were back. If he ran he could probably make it! Asher sprinted towards the Gate, being careful not to run into anyone, and made it to the crowd of people lining the road. '_Made it!_' The Scouts were just now riding into the Walls... but something seemed wrong. It looked like there were less then there was before they left... Asher looked further back in the line of horses and sucked in a breath.

There were Scouts with bandages in many places. Heads, arms, legs, chests. Some had splints. Their uniforms were bloodstained. Wagons carried wounded and dead Scout members. Many of the wounded looked like they were in extreme pain...

"Moses!"

Asher whipped his head towards who said Moses's name. He let out the breath he'd been holding in, it sounded like Moses made it back. An older looking woman ran up the Commander of the Scouts, Keith Shadis, "beg your pardon, where is my son? He should be with you all. Oh please tell me he made it!" Moses's mother grabbed his shirt and stared at him with fear filled eyes.

Keith stared back, and then said solemnly, "I wish I had better news..." He turned towards the man next to him, "Give it to her."

The woman stepped back and gasped, then looked down at a bundle laced in her arms. She stared at it, her eyes shadowing over, then looked back up at Keith. He continued staring back at her. She then hurriedly began unwrapping the bundle, only to find a bloody, severed, lifeless arm.

Asher gasped and suppressed a yell. '_Moses... Moses is __**DEAD**__?_' Asher didn't want t see any more of this, he ran. He ran all the way back home. He didn't slow down at all until he reached the door of his house, almost slamming into it. He was holding back tears as best as he could, and waited before he could regulate his breathing before opening the door.

He went inside and greeted his brother, "Hey Matt. I'm home."

Matt looked up from a small book he was reading, "Oh, hey Asher. How did your practicing go?"

"I'm getting a little rusty now that I only go every other month, but hey, it's not every day an eleven-year-old know how to use ODM Gear."

"True, true. I heard the bells. How'd the expedition go? Did you go to the gate to see?"

Asher's face gained a frown and he looks down, "Not good."

"Oh?... um... how many died?"

"Moses died."

Matt dropped his book on the floor.

The boys had relayed the news to their father who had a similar reaction and accidentally dropped a blade into the coals. He pulled it out, but it was already ruined. Sinclair didn't seem to care as much as he normally would have. The father brought his boys inside to have an early dinner.

"I think," said Sinclair, "we should head to the market after this. Get something to fight off this dreary mood, Maybe a cake?"

The boys nodded and quickly ate their food. once the dishes were cleaned up they headed back outside and down the road. When they were passing a tower, Sinclair suddenly stopped.

Asher turned around, "What is it Dad?"

There was a huge sound, like thunder, and the ground shook throwing Asher and Matt to the ground. Sinclair stared at the area where the south Gate was, his eyes widening. Asher got up and looked as well. A giant red hand was gripping the Wall, it was gripping so hard the wall was cracking. Following the hand, a giant red head came up above the wall. That head wasn't just colored red though, it was like a human without it's skin. It was a Titan. A huge titan. It lowered its head a little, then slowly looked back up. Then there was another explosion, and there were rocks flying through the air. Multiple stones hit buildings around them and Asher ducked and closed his eyes.

"Boys! MOVE!"

Asher and Matt were then shoved away, and a crash was heard. Asher opened his eyes again and looked around. The tower that they had walked by had collapsed, a huge chunk of rock jutting out of it. Matt was next to him, and their Dad was... where was their Dad? He looked around frantically for him. Where did he go? Where was Sinclair?!

"Asher.. I think... I think Dad is under that tower..."

Asher slowly turned to Matt, and saw he was pointing at the tower... an arm was sticking out from under it... and blood was pooling around it. Asher jumped at the arm and grabbed it, "Dad! DAD! Are you OK? Are you alive?!"

The hand shakily grasped Asher's weakly before shuddering and falling back to the ground.

"Dad! Dad, no! No, you can't die! Dad, you're gonna be OK! Dad!" Asher got up and tried to lift the tower off his father. _'If i pull hard enough i can get it off him! He'll be fine! We'll get him out and dust him off, then we can get out of here!_' but a hand grabbed his shoulder, he turned around with tears spilling from his eyes. It was Matt.

"Asher... Dad's gone, we need to go, we need to get out of here."

"NO! We can do it! I just need you to help me! Just-" Matt slapped him. He slumped to his knees.

"No, we can't! Do you want us to stay here and die? Dad just saved our lives, do you want him to have died for no reason?!"

Asher looked down, still crying, "...no. I don't... Let's go. We..We need to g-get to the inner gate."

Matt helped Asher up and they started running for the Gate. The heard screaming throughout the city, and stomping. Lots of stomping. There was more and more of that sound by the minute. Some of it was getting close, too close for comfort. They managed to stay ahead of everything though, they could see the main road that led to the gate. The ran faster to reach it, and ran past an alley, where a giant hand reached out to grab Asher. Matt saw this and jumped forward, shoving Asher forward, but getting grabbed instead. "Asher!"

Asher reversed to see Matt being hoisted into the air in the hand of a titan. "No! Matt!"

"Asher, I need you to run! Get out of here! Get through the gate!"

"No, Matt! Don't leave me too!"

"Asher, run!" The titan put Matt in it's mouth.

Asher reached out a hand, "NOOOO!" There was a wet crunch and Matt's blood sprayed out, covering the buildings, and making a few bloody streaks on Asher's shirt and covering one of the lenses of his glasses. He stared at the Titan in disbelief until it looked at him, the he ran, he ran as fast as he possibly could. He ran to the main road and towards the Gate. He ran past the soldiers stationed there, and ran towards the boats. But when he was a few houses away from the gate, it exploded behind him. The force of the blast threw him into the air.

He was flying, just like the debris around him. A rock flew by knocking his glasses off, then more rocks and debris. A shard of glass cut deep across his right cheek, and blood immediately began flowing. He was high in the air now, and began to fall. '_I'm falling, I'm going to die. I'm going to die just like Dad and Matt._' He looked down at where he was falling towards and his eyes widened when he saw his body was hurtling towards the canal. He sucked in a breath right when he slammed into the surface of it. It was extremely painful, he felt like he had just landed on solid ground. The breath was forced out of him. he was sinking for a few seconds before he regained his senses and swam back up. Asher broke the surface gasping for breath. He looked around at where he was, he WAS in the canal. But where were the boats?

That was when one floated right past him, he swam out of the way at first, but went back and started calling for help.

"Hey! Heeeeeeey! Down here! Help!" He began slamming on the boat, and continued calling for help until someone grabbed the collar of his shirt and began pulling him up It choked him, but he didn't resist. Other arms began grabbing him and helping him up. They pulled him on board and he landed hard on his back, creating a puddle below him, a mixture of water and blood. He breathed in and out heavily and looked around.

A boy was looking over him. He had long blond hair that covered his ears and almost covered his eyes, His blue eyes looked worried.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, "Can you get up?"

Asher nodded and sat up. He had to wipe blood off of his cheek, then Armin handed him a rag to cover it up with. It was keeping the blood at bay, at least for now.

"You got lucky. I saw you flying through the air just before you hit the water. I looked over the edge to see if you were still alive, Like I said, you're lucky."

Asher looked at the boy, "Th-thanks. I thought I was going to die... Just like... just like..." Tears began to well up in his eyes again

"Hey there, it's all right now. What's your name?"

"A-Asher Sterling. And you?"

"Armin Arlert. Nice to meet you"

Asher stood up and walked to the edged of the boat. He could see things were the titans, but they were all blur to him without his glasses. Another boy walked up next to him, and to Asher's surprise it was the boy from earlier that day.

"I'm gonna put a stop to this," He said angrily, "I'll kill them all... every last one!"

Asher's face hardened at hearing this. This boy, Eren he had heard Armin call him, had the right idea. Those Titans had done this. The giant one killed his father... the others killed his brother! They were slaughtering everyone in Shiganshina, everyone he had ever became friends with, everyone he ever knew! He needed to return the favor. He was going to kill as many titans as he possibly could. He would find a way, and Eren seemed to be the first step. Asher slammed his fist next to Eren's hand to get his attention. Eren looked at him, still angry.

"Eren, I'm coming with you. I'm going to help you put a stop to this!"

**A/N: I have finally reached the actual anime part.**


	6. Ch 6 - Refuge

"Huh?" Eren just stared blankly at Asher for a few seconds. Then regained his look, "Alright guy... you can come along. But are you sure you-"

Asher cut him off, "Oh, I'm _sure_ alright. I just watched my father get _crushed_, and my brother get _eaten.._. They were all the family I had," Asher's voice was rising, "and the Titans took them from me in less than ten _minutes!_" He turned and pointed towards the 15 meter armored up Titan wreaking havoc, yelling now, "That one right there just tried to kill _me._ But it failed, and I'm going to make that failure bite them right back in their Titan asses! The only way to do that is to fight back!" Asher's went quiet for a moment and looked back at Eren saying in a normal tone, "You seem to have a similar idea. I know that it's easier to get things done when you have help. So I'm going to help. I'm sure. Very sure."

The people around were staring, especially Eren and Armin, and Asher became a little self-conscious. He kept his face straight though while he waited for Eren to respond. Eren stared him in the eye and nodded, "Alright, you've made your point," He looked at Armin's Grandpa, "Sir, can this boy come stay with us as well? You heard him, his family just died."

The Grandpa side-looked Asher, "I see no harm in it. It's only one more boy."

"Thanks Grandpa!" Armin said smiling, "Okay Asher, welcome to our little group! I guess we should formally introduce ourselves. You know my name already. The boy you were just talking to is Eren Yeager-"

"Hey," Eren said waving.

"-and behind me is Mikasa Ackerman. She's Eren's adoptive sister."

Asher immediately recognized Eren's last name Mikasa was about to greet him when Asher whipped towards Eren and asked, "Wait, you're Grisha Yeager's son, aren't you Eren?" Eren nodded, "Your dad made my glasses a year ago. I remember going to your house for him to see if I needed them. I saw you with Mikasa talking about a trip you just came from or something but you guys had your backs to me. I didn't know it was _you_ guys."

Mikasa finally had a chance to speak, "Yes, that was us... you don't have any glasses now though. Where are they?"

"Ah, they flew off somewhere when I was blown away. Better it than me though, they didn't just fly off, a rock hit them. Everything past this boat is blurred together."

"We can get you a new pair once we get to safety," Said Armin's grandfather, "for now just sit tight and hope we actually get there."

All of them nodded and sat down, waiting for the boat to reach the safety of Wall Rose.

They were part of the fortunate humans to reach the safety of Wall Rose in boats. Others had to reach it on foot, and many were eaten alive by Titans. The group, once reaching Wall Rose had took refuge in a now empty storehouse. The excess of population was draining the food supplies quickly, Rose wasn't meant to hold _this_ many humans within it.

The group Asher had joined had been nice to him and had shared the same experience as he did. Eren and Mikasa had lost their mother to a 13-15 Meter Titan. One with a freakishly creepy smile. Eren's father was missing. The only adult with them was Armin's Grandfather.

Asher was asleep. The gash on his cheek had been bandaged, and the doctor had told him that it would leave a nasty scar. He didn't care about that though, he was exhausted, his body ached more than that gash. A storehouse was not the greatest place to sleep in. The floor was cold, hard, and flat. Someone was shaking his shoulder, "Hey Asher. Asher it's a good time to get up." It was Armin's voice. "They're giving us refugees some food. You don't want to miss out."

Asher groaned and sat up rubbing his shoulders. "Ah, my shoulders... I'm not used to sleeping on concrete..."

"Trust me Asher, most of us aren't. We'll just have to deal with it until they can find a proper place for us to stay."

"Whatever you say Armin. Do you know what kind of food we're getting?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm going to go with Grandpa to get some. Can you go wake up Eren please?"

"Yeah sure. I'll see you in a bit."

Armin headed outside to where his Grandad stood. Once they got together they went into what looked like a large crowd of people outside the door. Asher finally stood up. Once up he stretched and sighed. He hoped they'd find that proper place soon. His temporary floor bed sucked.

Asher walked towards where Eren was, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, only to find Mikasa already waking him.

"Hey," Mikasa said to Eren, "it's okay, you were just dreaming."

"It was... it felt so real."

"Nightmare. Shake it off"

"Yeah..." Eren looked down to his shirt and looked surprised to find a key there. It was on a string around his neck. Mikasa stood up and looked down at Eren.

"Come on. There handing food rations near the warehouse."

Eren put the key under his shirt and stood as well.

Asher intercepted them on their way out, "Hey guys, did you sleep comfortably?"

They both nodded. _Ah come on! How can they sleep well on concrete?! _Asher thought to himself, irritated. They exited the building.

"I think this is where they used to store all the dry goods," Mikasa said, "Now it's where they corral the refugees."

'Corralled' was the correct word choice. Hundreds of refugees from Wall Maria were outside. A lot of them were fighting. Asher didn't understand why until one said he wanted another guys food.

Mikasa continued, "Not Exactly a dignified existence."

"Hey guys!" The three of them turned to see Armin jogging through the crowd towards them. He was carrying some bread with him. How did he get so much if the others were fighting for tiny pieces of bread?

"Glad I caught you," Armin sounded a little out of breath, "Here, Grandpa scrounged little extra by telling the powers that be he had kids." He handed each of them one.

Mikasa smiled, "That was nice of him."

When Eren received his he noticed a member of the Garrison staring at them with disdain. The Garrison member saw they were looking at them, scoffed and walked away. Eren didn't look pleased.

"What's his deal?"

"Just ignore it," Armin said quietly, "There's a shortage. Poor man's probably hungry. By the way, I'd make that last," He motioned at the bread, "They were already dealing with famine before we got here so it's an ugly situation. That, and this far in there's -"

He stopped when Eren was looking back at the Garrison guys. They were looking at everyone the same way they looked at them. Asher heard what they were saying, even from over there.

"Nothing more gratifying than seeing your rations go to animals. _Guess _we gotta beef up the herd though. Eat up! The Titans like a little meat on their bones!"

Eren glared at them and began walking towards them.

Armin reached after him, "Eren, wait!" Asher stopped him and lowered Armin's arm.

"No, Eren has the right idea, that son of a bitch needs to be told what's what." Asher followed Eren, catching up with him. The Garrison guy kept on talking.

"Oughta keep ya in cages. Shove you out to the front lines as a buffer," Eren kicked him full force in the shin, "Ah! Dammit!" Asher reared his fist back and smashed him full force in the groin, "Shit!"

His buddies growled and socked them both in the face, once both the boys were down they kicked them.

"Who's the animal now?!" Asher yelled at them, "You're kicking kids who can't fight back!"

"Spineless cowards, all of you!" Eren added. You don't.. you don't know what it's like!"

They seemed a little surprised at this outburst.

Eren continued, "You seen one? You seen what they can do?!"

The Garrison guy got up, still shaking a little and covering his groin with one hand. "Ugh.."

He started walking towards them, "You little-!"

Armin jumped in between them and the guy, "Sorry! They didn't mean it, they're just hungry. We all get that way, speak our minds out of turn sometimes. Forgive them," He bowed, "I beg you."

Garrison guy was shocked, and looked around to see many of the refugees looking at him, "Yeah well... keep in mind who's giving up their share so you can eat. In case you hadn't noticed, we're all hungry." He walked away, limping and groaning in pain every step. "Tell your buddies a little gratitude goes a long way."

Armin smiled saying "Sure!"

Eren rubbed his face where a bruise was forming, "Bastard. I'm not about to show gratitude to a coward."

Asher patted his back, "I don't expect you to. I'm sure as hell not. I'd like to see how he'd treat us when _his _family get's eaten alive."

"Asher!" Armin said, "No you don't. We all want him to stop what he's doing, but we don't want him to go through anything like that."

Asher sighed, "Yeah... you're right Armin," he got up, "Alright, lets head back to the warehouse. We can eat our bread in peace there."

"I can't do this, I'm going back to Wall Maria." Eren said angrily, staring at the ground. He was sitting on top of the small wall separating the inside and outside of the warehouse. "The Titans have to pay for what they've done to us..."

"Hey now. You're not serious. That's your stomach talking," Armin said.

"No it's not!" Eren spat, "Wake up! The guys standing between us and them are just a bunch of talk!" He looked down at his bread. "To hell with all of 'em! Here!" He threw it at Armin and Armin almost fumbled it.

"Oh yeah, what are you trying to do? Starve?"

"When are you gonna get sick of their charity? Too much is handed to us. We have to stand on our own two feet!"

Asher just watched the ordeal while eating his bread. Eren had a point, but he was getting a little to forceful telling Armin his mind. It looked like Armin had to get forceful back.

"To do what?" Armin yelled, "Get killed by a Titan? I know I used to think our future was beyond the walls, but it's like you told that man: I've never seen what they could do to us!"

"So that's it? This is just the way life is? Run away and take what we're given?!"

"Look at us! What choice do we have here?!"

"We can damn well _leave_!"

Asher stopped mid chew, _this is getting a little too intense._

"If you wanna scrape by in the charity of cowards, that's your thing, but I'm not a parasite-!"

That was when Mikasa ran up to Ere and socked him right in the face. Eren actually flew off of the ground from the blow and landed face first on the hard ground.

Armin stared at Mikasa, surprised, "Mikasa?"

She lowered her fist, and Armin looked down on Eren. Asher backed away, he was supporting Eren earlier, but he didn't want to eat the dirt.

Mikasa looked down on Eren as well, his face still in the ground, "Have you looked in the mirror lately? All of us are parasites. We couldn't run from certain death without help, tell me differently. Don't take your shortcomings out on him." Eren started getting up, "For God's sake, we can't even find food on our own."

Eren sat up, staring at Mikasa. He looked disheartened and had a bruise forming on his cheek from the punch. Mikasa continued.

"We're parasites. We're cowards. Titans are at the top of the food chain. Period," Eren looked away frowning. She kept going, "Pride be damned, we do do what we must to live. Your mom didn't ask us to be brave." She walked towards Eren, taking his loaf of bread from Armin's hands, and shoved it in Eren's mouth.

"Mikasa!" Armin said reluctantly. Asher's eyebrows rose. This looked awkward. A ten year old boy was being hand fed a whole loaf of bread, forcibly. He stepped up to Mikasa, "Uh, Mikasa. I don't think you need to-" She side-looked him with a menacing glare as if to say 'Stay out of it.' Asher shut up and backed away again, holding up his hands. She turned back to Eren.

"Eat it! She asked us to stay alive, I'm not about to let her down."

Eren started eating it, crying. Asher looked at his bread and quickly finished it. No way was Mikasa going to start shoving bread in _his_ mouth.

After a few days almost all of the refugees were sent out to the wastelands to try and get some crops going. Asher and the group he was with went as well. He had never farmed before, it was hard work. All the plowing and sowing. But it was all for naught. Nothing grew.

A year later all refugees old enough to serve in the military were sent out into Titan territory to "reclaim Wall Maria." Everyone knew this wasn't going to work, but they went anyway. And Asher was sure they were being sent to their deaths to reduce population. It got worse, Armin's Grandfather was conscripted as well. When he was about to leave, he turned and gave Armin his straw hat. It was the last they ever saw of him. Less than two-hundred of the Two-hundred fifty-thousand sent made it back. It did nothing to the Titans, just gave them something to eat.

Armin sat down leaning against a wall, holding out his grandfather's hat. He stared at it, then tears started streaming down his face. He closed his eyes and hugged the hat to his chest. He tried his best to quiet his sobs. Asher knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. So he just hugged him. It was the only thing that he thought could help.

Eren just looked at Armin. "We have to find a way to stop them. Our lives will never be our own until we do."

Asher let go of Armin, and they both looked at Eren as he continued.

"This world will never feel like home." He crouched down next to Armin and looked forward, "That's it. Next year I'll be applying to join the Cadets." Armin stared now, mouth open. Mikasa closed her eyes and sighed. "To become strong enough to fight back."

Armin closed his mouth and looked back at the straw hat. "I'm with you."

"You don't have to-"

"I do!"

"So do I," Mikasa added.

"I do as well," Said Asher.

Eren looked at all of them, "Dammit, I'm not trying to drag you in. Look, there's no point in following me to my death."

"Yeah, and if I can help it then it won't be your death," Mikasa countered.

"Eren," said Asher, "You've got friends. You've got us. I know we can do this. We just need to do this together!"

Eren stood up, sporting a determined look. "Alright, together then."


	7. Ch 7 - Cadets

"Straighten those spines piss-ants! The hundred and fourth cadet boot camp starts _now!_"

It was now the following year: 847. The group had been true to their word and joined the cadets. They were assembled in rows facing a very tan, very bald man. He was yelling at the top of his lungs at them, and some of the kids around Asher seemed afraid of him already. Asher himself, however, was still preoccupied with this new jacket they gave him. It seemed way too short. Even if it was just for show, and there was a shirt under it, he didn't like how much of his body _wasn't _covered by the jacket. It seemed to defeat the purpose of a jacket. Asher's shook his head of these thoughts and watched the man. He seemed familiar.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Commander Keith Shadis and you _will _grow to hate me! Training is gonna be a white-knuckle ride through Hell. If I've done my job you'll be waking up in a cold sweat from memories of this place every night for the rest of your miserable lives!"

Ah-ha! It was the old Commander of the Survey Corps! Last time he saw him he had a full head of hair. But Asher was pretty sure he wouldn't be sweating from the memories of this. At least Shadis wasn't trying to kill him and his friends, just scare them. It wasn't going to work on him.

"Right now you're nothing; livestock. But over the next three soul-crushin' years you'll learn to take down your own Goliath! Remember this moment when you come face-to-face with him. 'Cause here's where you ask yourself: Am I a fighter? Or am I feed? Am I gonna be ground up to pulpy human gristle between boulder size incisors? Or am _I _gonna be the one to bite?!"

Asher knew the answer to the questions perfectly well. He was going to kill any Titan he saw. But first... he needed to _learn_ how to kill them. He wasn't just going to rush in and attack, that was stupid. He needed to learn to think things through, know his limits. This training was the perfect way to do all of it in one go.

The Commander came down from the small cliff and began walking down each line, yelling insults at each and every one. Asher didn't pay attention to them until he heard Armin's voice. _Aw crap, Armin..._

"Sir!" Asher could see him through the rows, he had done the salute like the rest: left arm behind the back, right fist over the heart. Keith came up to him.

"What do they call you, maggot?" the commander yelled.

"Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina, sir."

"Wow, seriously? Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?"

"It was my grandfather, sir."

"Cadet Arlert, why is a runt like you here?" Shadis got right up in his face, waiting for the answer.

Armin closed his eyes and yelled, "To help Humanity overcome the Titans!"

The Commander backed away, "That is delightful to hear! You're gonna be a great light snack for 'em." He put his hand on Armin's head and turned him around, "Row three, about face, grunt."

Armin's row turned to face the row that the Commander was about to torment. He continued yelling and insulting for the whole row, then when he arrived at row five he started to pass some kids. Asher looked at that row and saw Eren and Mikasa were a couple of the one's he was passing. Why'd he pass them, but not Armin? He was at Shiganshina too, he said it to everyone. Maybe it was because of the looks on their faces. Yeah, he was sure. The ones he passed had this look, like they had seen things. They were stone-faced. The Commander must know that he wouldn't scare them at all.

Shadis went through finishing a row before he reached Asher's row. Row number seven. Shadis got closer and closer. One girl got yelled at for eating a potato or something, but Asher wasn't paying attention to that. He waited in anticipation. He actually started smiling. Somewhere in his mind, he knew he should put on the stone-faced look like the others, so he could avoid the insults and what-not, but he was getting excited for some reason. Maybe it was because once Shadis reached him, he would feel like he had officially started his path toward... vengeance? Is that the right word? He hoped that was the right word, but before he could think of a better one something moved in front of him and blocked the sun.

"Why the hell are _you_ smiling maggot?! Are you an idealistic fool as well?"

Asher saluted, "I'm smiling because once we get this over with I get to learn how to kill Titans, sir."

The Commander just stared at him for a few moments, then spoke up, "And what's you're name, you smiling idiot?"

"Asher Sterling. I'm from Shiganshina."

From the look on Keith's face it, it seemed he recognized Asher's name.

"... And why are you in such a rush to kill titans, Asher?"

Multiple people's eyes widened, he had addressed him like he sincerely wanted to know. Not to make an insult, or make him swallow any pride or anything. Just a question.

Asher was still smiling stupidly though, and kept on talking, "I'd very much like to go back to my house, sir. My dad left the forge running before we left. He died before he could properly shut it down."

Commander Keith's eyes widened and he stepped back, "... I'll be having a talk with you later."

The Commander went to the next person with a little less vigor, but had it back by the third person down. Asher looked around, still smiling a little. That had gone well. The others were either still wide eyed, back to watching the Commander, or smiling menacingly because they thought he was in trouble. Asher wasn't completely sure, but he had a feeling that he wasn't.

It was the end of they day, the Cadets were sent to their little houses. At least that's what Asher thought they were. They looked the like houses you'd go to on a trip in the mountains. He's seen a couple pictures of them in the newspaper. He had caught up with Eren and Armin, but didn't see Mikasa anywhere. The two boys were hanging out with another cadet named Connie Springer on the deck of one of the little houses. They were watching Potato Girl run across the grounds.

"Man," Said Connie, "I thought Shadis was gonna kill Potato Girl."

Eren agreed, "I know, one hell of a first day. It's funny, being told to run till the sun sets didn't seem to bother her nearly as much as losing meal privileges for the next five days."

"I think she said that she's from Dauper," Connie said, "If I remember right, it's a small hunting village up in the mountains."

"That means they get a lot of food, all the time. Right?" Asher asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"If she eats a lot, all the time, why is she so skinny?"

Armin poked the back of Asher's head, "Asher."

Asher covered the back of his head with a hand, "Alright, alright..."

Eren looked over to the road and nudged Asher. He pointed to it, "What's that?"

There was a horse-drawn covered wagon going up the hill and out of the boot camp. It looked like it had a load of cadets in the back.

A girl behind them spoke, "They're dropouts. They prefer to work in the fields."

Armin said, confused, "But, it's only the first day."

Eren crossed his arms, "That's the way it is. If you can't handle the pressure, you've gotta leave."

Everyone turned to Eren and he uncrossed his arms, "I can't believe anyone would rather pull plants than fight."

One of other boys, Marco if Asher remembered correctly, got up, "I know about some of us, but you never mentioned where you were from Eren."

Eren smiled and put his hands on Asher and Armin's shoulders, "Same as my friends Asher and Armin here, from Shiganshina."

Connie's eyes widened, and Marco seemed astounded.

"Oh, wow..." Marco said, "that means-"

"You saw it," Connie interrupted, "You were there that day."

"Huh? Quiet!," Marco scolded

Connie ignored him, "The Colossal one, did you see him?"

Eren frowned, "Yeah. Yeah I did."

Connie smiled, "Awesome!"

Asher went up and flicked him on the forehead.

"Hey, what the heck Asher?!" He looked mad at first, until he saw Asher's face.

He looked angry. In fact, Asher would have rather punched him. A flick was too generous. The thing that killed his dad was - "_Not. Awesome." _he said to Connie. Those two words were dripping with anger. He turned and walked to the door.

"H-hey. Hey Asher, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" Asher slammed the door behind him. "Aw, crap."

Marco slapped him in the back of the head.

**A/N: This one is a little bit shorter. Sorry if you were expecting it to grow to a three-thousand word chapter.**


	8. Ch 8 - Aptitude

After Asher slammed the door behind him he learned that the house he was in wasn't a house. It was a mess hall. The other cadets inside all turned to him, so he had to make a quick excuse.

"Whoops, sorry about that!" Asher said with a nervous smile and sidestepped towards the line of people waiting for food. The cadets turned back to their food and eventually everyone seemed to forget that he slammed the door. Asher sighed with relief and stepped in line.

As he waited he thought about what happened. He was still mad at Connie for what he said. He insulted him, saying that the Titan that killed his family was 'awesome.' But now that the embarrassment had cooled him down, he was thinking more logically. There was no way that Connie could have known his family was killed by the Colossal Titan. He wasn't there when it happened either; he couldn't have know the terror of that day. By the time he would have heard about that day the story, it would have been distorted and incorrect in a few places. Of course it would sound like some awesome story to him.

Asher reached the table with tableware arranged in an orderly fashion. He picked up a plate, one of those weird metal bowl things, and fork. He got some soup and bread and headed towards a table.

He would have to apologize to Connie for his reaction. The insult was unintended, and what he said wasn't even directed _at _Asher. Connie was talking to Eren at the time. So Asher concluded that he would only forgive Connie _this _once.

To Asher, forgiving someone every time they did something to him was counter-productive. If you forgave them, then they would forget about it soon enough, and do it again. They needed to know that what they did was not something he liked, so Asher would _make _them remember. Anytime someone had done him wrong, they were immediately on his shit-list. The only exception to this personal rule: if the person was a close friend, he would forgive them, but they might receive a punch to the shoulder. Exception number two: if that person was Mikasa, smile and walk away.

Asher sat down and began eating. He would make it absolutely clear to Connie that it was his _only _free card. Connie didn't need to be getting any ideas. He would need to be calm about it though-

His thoughts were interrupted when the room got quieter. It was _too _quiet. Quiet enough he heard footsteps coming up from behind him. _Who could be intimidating enough to make the room go quiet? _Asher looked over his shoulder, only to see the light blocked by a tall man. It was Keith Shadis. It seemed like Shadis was true to his word; he wanted to have a talk with Asher. Even though Asher had the feeling that he wasn't in trouble, he still didn't like how Shadis still had the menacing aura about him.

"Cadet Asher, pick up your food and come with me," Shadis said in a commanding tone. Asher quickly did what he said and followed him out of the hall. On their way out Asher saw a crowd of people heading over to a table. It looked like they were all asking... oh, it was Eren. They were asking him something, but the door closed behind him. Oh well, he'd have to ask Eren later.  
>Shadis walked lead Asher past the Cadet living spaces, up a hill, and into what seemed to be Shadis's quarters. They entered.<br>"Asher, sit on that chair over there," Shadis pointed to a wooden chair at a table. Asher did as he was told and Shadis sat across from him. Asher sat straight and waited for him to speak. He didn't dare speak before he did.  
>"Well Asher... You've grown. The last time I saw you you were as tall as my knee."<p>

"You seemed surprised to see me today, sir."

"That was because I thought you were dead," Shadis said bluntly, "You're brother isn't here, so I assume he _is. _You already told me your father was."

"What made you so sure I was dead?"

"Your father was my main mechanic. I was friends with him... I tried to find his family in the mass of refugees. Once I couldn't I assumed you all didn't make it."

Shadis did come in for repairs and little upgrades often when Asher still lived in Shiganshina. Sinclair and Shadis would often sit down and talk about what was going on in each others lives and whatnot. Asher and Matt would sometimes sit at the table and join in. Asher decided he should knew how they died at least.

"Dad died when the Colossal Titan first appeared. The debris from it's destroying of the outer gate killed him. Matt was eaten by a Titan when we were trying to escape. I almost died as well. The Armored Titan threw me up into the air when it demolished the inner gate. The debris that flew by didn't miss me either. It knocked off my glasses and made a deep cut on my face," he pointed to the scar on his right cheek, "I would've died from the fall, but I got lucky and landed in the canal, next to the boats that were escaping."

Shadis leaned back, "You're lucky to be alive. It sounds like you've been through Hell and back," he leaned forward again, "which brings me to the question, how have you survived the past two years?"

"Well, when I landed next to the boats I kept yelling for help until someone tried to help me. A boy named Armin Arlert got some people to help him get me out of the water. I stayed with Armin and his Grandfather after that. Along with Armin there was Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman. All four of us are Cadets."

Shadis nodded and sat silently for a few seconds and then stood up, "Well, I think it's about time you headed back to the other Cadets." Asher stood up as wel and headed to the door. Shadis opened it and motioned for him to leave.

"It's nice seeing you alive Asher," Shadis said as he was going out, "and Asher."

Asher turned around, "Hm?"

"Tomorrow is the Aptitude test. Don't think for a second that just because I know you personally, I'll go any easier on you."

Asher smiled, "I wasn't, Sir. I don't expect you to. Have a good night." Asher turned again and headed down the hill and back to the cabin's. He was half way there when he heard footsteps behind him. Asher looked over his shoulder to see Potato Girl walking slowly to the cabins, then collapsing on the ground. He thought about helping until she shot right back up and tackled another cadet walking towards her. _Nope_, Asher thought and quickly walked to his destination.

* * *

><p>"It's Aptitude test time, so <em>listen up!<em>" Shadis shouted at the Cadets, "There is no place for you here if you cannot perform! Fail, and be shipped to the fields!"

Aptitude day. In other words, it was time to see if you could use ODM Gear. Not the actual thing, you wore the straps and had cords connected to them, but that was it. The cords pulled you up into the air, and if you could stay upright, you pass. If not, you leave, just like the cadets who couldn't take the pressure in the beginning.

Luckily for Asher, he had previous experience. Of course he was rusty, he hadn't done this in two years. But you could say it was like riding a bike, he knew what to do. Asher gave the man behind him a thumbs up and his cables began to lift him into the air. Using his previous experience, he looked more like he was floating off the ground, unlike some others who were constantly trying to steady themselves. Shadis walked by, looked him over and nodded to him, continuing down the line.

Asher looked down the line of cadets. He was at the end, so the one furthest down was hard to make out. The ones closer could be identified. Potato Girl, or Sasha Blouse someone had informed him, looked like she was swinging on a swing set. Jean was one of the ones constantly steadying himself, but he was doing ok. Connie looked like he was going to fall forward, but he stayed upright. Mikasa was just floating there, like she wasn't even being held up by cables. Then there was Eren... who was not doing well at all. He was upside down, his Jacket almost falling off of him. Shadis was fast walking to him. _Uh oh. Eren, brace yourself._

Commander Shadis crouched down to where Eren's head was, "What is your major malfunction Yeager?! Straighten yourself up!" The other Cadets watching were trying to hide laughs, but they weren't doing so well. Asher hoped Eren could get back up, he didn't want him to be sent off to some field to far the rest of his life...

He was lowered to the ground and he undid the cables and handed them to someone else. Once he was free he walked were to where Eren was. It looked like he was off of the cables already, and his face said that he was disappointed.

"Hey, Eren," Asher called to him, "over here!"

Eren looked over to see Asher, and walked towards him. He said nothing, but he walked out of the crowd with him. A few people were laughing at Eren, but Asher looked at them angrily and they shut up... only to continue when they were behind him.

Asher patted Eren's back, "Hey, I'm sure they'll give you another chance. They'll need as many people as they can get, right?"

"Yeah," Eren finally responded, "but if I can't, I'll be digging up dirt forever."

"Hey now," said someone behind them. They turned to see Armin. Mikasa was following him. "You don't need to talk like that. You have two pro's right here," He motioned to Mikasa and Asher, "they could help you out."

Mikasa nodded, "That's right. Once this place clears up you can get some practice."

Asher grinned, "See? You've got some backup. You'll be a pro like us in no time."

They waited for the Cadets to finish with their Aptitude tests and clear out. Once they had they walked over to one of the sets of cables. They strapped Eren up.

Mikasa started out, "Just remember the basics and you should be fine. No need to try any fancy maneuvers. Just focus on your _balance._ Then distribute your weight evenly between the belts on our waist and your legs." She pointed to the belts.

"If you feel like you're starting to lean, you're putting too much weight in one area," Asher added.

"Loosen up your stance a little bit," Armin suggested and smiled, "If _I _can do it I know that you can."

Eren seemed reluctant but nodded, "Okay, a loose stance, but balanced... Let's give it a shot Armin."

Armin nodded and started to pull the cables up with the crank. Eren began to rise off the ground.

Asher could see he wasn't distributing his weight properly immediately. "Eren, you're leaning!"

Eren yelled as he fell forwards and his head slammed into the ground. After he didn't get up Armin crouched down to pick him up, "Eren! Are you alright?!"

Mikasa got down and helped Armin get Eren on their shoulders. He was unconscious and his forehead was bleeding.

"You guys take him to the doctor," Asher said quickly, "I'll run ahead and tell him what happened so he'll be ready for him."

Mikasa nodded and they began to drag Eren. Asher sprinted through the grounds and up to the doctor's cabin. He opened the door and the doctor turned to him.

"Hm? Is there something you need?"

Asher nodded and fast-walked up to the doctor, "My friend had an accident and busted his head. He's unconscious and is being dragged here as we speak. He'll need some help."

**A/N: Well tomorrow is Christmas, so to anyone who celebrates that: Merry Christmas! To everyone else: Happy Holidays! I can't remember the names of the other celebrations.  
>If anyone want's to know what I think Asher looks like, here's a poorly draw picture of him. artAsher-Sterling-498132982  
><strong>**I suck at art, so if you think it looks bad, that's to be expected.****  
><strong>


End file.
